When Is a Statutory Audit Mandatory in Hungary? Thresholds Explained

Roth Miklós

Every year, thousands of Hungarian company owners ask the same question at closing time: does our company need an auditor this year? The short answer, per the reviewed professional pages: every double-entry business is in principle subject to audit, but an exemption applies below certain thresholds — for business years starting on or after 1 January 2025, average annual net revenue not exceeding 600 million forints and average headcount not exceeding 50 over the two preceding years. This explainer is general information, not legal advice.

Who falls under the obligation as a rule?

The starting point is broad. As the auditor's question-and-answer guide to statutory audit in Hungary sets out, the Accounting Act covers every double-entry business in principle, and it is the exemption — not the obligation — that most small and medium-sized companies need to evaluate. That framing matters because it reverses the burden of proof: a company is inside the audit regime unless it can show both exemption conditions hold.

What are the current thresholds?

For business years beginning on or after 1 January 2025, a company is exempt only if both conditions are met: average annual net revenue over the two preceding business years does not exceed 600 million forints, and the average number of employees over the same period does not exceed 50. The Hungarian-language version of the auditor's answers stresses that the two conditions apply together — exceeding either one is enough to trigger the obligation.

Two practical details catch owners out. First, the test uses a two-year average, so a single strong year does not automatically create an obligation. Second, the raised threshold applies only to business years from 2025 onward; audits of 2024 financial statements were still assessed under the previous 300-million-forint revenue limit. A further Hungarian edition of the guide adds that companies dropping out of the obligation after the increase may end an existing audit engagement — but the law requires notifying the public audit oversight authority of the termination and its reason.

Are there companies that can never be exempt?

Yes. Regardless of size, the obligation remains for categories the law treats as higher-risk or publicly significant. The third Hungarian-language edition of the guide lists, among others: savings cooperatives, companies included in consolidated financial statements, Hungarian branches of foreign-headquartered enterprises (subject to certain exceptions under Section 154/A), public-interest entities, and businesses departing from the Act's provisions in exceptional cases to present a true and fair view. Nonprofits follow their own revenue-based rule. Newly founded companies face a separate trap: with no two preceding years, the Act requires annualising the figures of a short first period — founders planning rapid growth should run that calculation early rather than discover an obligation after year-end.

Who may audit — and what if a mandatory audit is skipped?

Only auditors registered with the Hungarian Chamber of Auditors (MKVK) may accept a statutory engagement, and registration can be checked in the chamber's public register — a sensible first verification step. Appointment is made by the company's supreme body, and the law allows 90 days from the appointment decision to conclude the audit contract. In practice, the reviewed guides warn against waiting until spring: early-scheduled fieldwork is smoother, and late appointments compress the same work into the season's busiest weeks. A profile of one western-Hungarian group offering audit alongside bookkeeping illustrates what verifiable structure looks like: a named, chamber-registered auditor and a stated liability-insurance backing.

A company that files its annual report without the required auditor's report breaches its publication obligations. The chamber has actively written to companies that deposited reports without an audit opinion, and persistent default can lead to company-registry procedures. Beyond the legal exposure, an unaudited report can complicate bank financing, grant applications and dividend decisions — it is cheaper to clarify the obligation in January than to repair a filing in June.

Planning around the threshold

Threshold proximity should shape calendars, not just compliance. A Hungarian-language overview of accounting trust and audit thresholds notes that crossing a threshold typically triggers the obligation for the following business year, giving a planning window — and that auditors request general-ledger extracts, contracts and inventories well before year-end, so early document collection shortens the process. If growth also prompts an accountant change, a step-by-step guide to switching accountants recommends timing the switch to a natural closing point and insisting on a written handover list, so audit preparation survives the transition. Whichever stage you are at: re-check the current figures against the Accounting Act on njt.hu, confirm borderline cases with a chamber-registered auditor, and treat any summary — including this one — as a map, not the territory.